Selumetinib Shows Positive Results Against Biliary Cancer in Phase II Trial

A Phase II clinical trial has demonstrated positive effects of selumetinib in people with advanced biliary cancer.

A Phase II clinical trial has demonstrated positive effects of selumetinib in people with advanced biliary cancer, a malignancy of cells lining the bile ducts and gall bladder. Selumetinib, also known as AZD6244, belongs to a class of drugs called protein-kinase inhibitors. It blocks a protein called MEK, which cancer cells need to proliferate and survive.

The study was led by cancer researchers at Ohio State University. The University of North Carolina, Vanderbilt University and Emory University, all in the US, also participated in the trial, which involved 28-patients, 17 of which showed no tumour growth for up to 16 weeks.

Patients who lacked a target protein called pERK did not respond to the drug, sugges